Cookie Policy

Last Updated: November 2024

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile phone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and provide information to website owners.

Cookies help us understand how you use our website, remember your preferences, and improve your experience. Some cookies are essential for the website to function, while others help us analyze and improve our service.

2. How We Use Cookies

BizAlerts uses cookies for the following purposes:

  • Essential Operations: To enable core functionality like payment processing and preference management
  • User Experience: To remember your settings and preferences between visits
  • Security: To protect your account and prevent fraudulent activity
  • Analytics: To understand how visitors use our website and identify areas for improvement (only with your consent)
  • Marketing: To measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns (only with your consent)

3. Types of Cookies We Use

3.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies (Always Active)

These cookies are essential for the website to function properly. They enable core features such as:

  • Processing payments through Stripe
  • Managing your subscription and preferences
  • Remembering your cookie consent choices
  • Maintaining session state and security
  • Preventing cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks

Legal Basis: These cookies are necessary for the performance of our contract with you and to comply with legal obligations. You cannot opt out of these cookies if you want to use our service.

3.2 Analytics Cookies (Optional)

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. We may use services such as:

  • Google Analytics (if enabled) - to track page views, user journeys, and traffic sources
  • Sentry - for error tracking and performance monitoring (anonymized)

Purpose: To improve our service by understanding which features are most used, where users encounter problems, and how we can optimize the user experience.

Legal Basis: Your consent. You can enable or disable analytics cookies at any time through your cookie preferences.

3.3 Marketing Cookies (Optional)

These cookies are used to track visitors across websites to display relevant advertisements and measure campaign effectiveness. We may use:

  • Google Ads (if enabled) - for remarketing and conversion tracking
  • Facebook Pixel (if enabled) - for ad targeting and performance measurement
  • LinkedIn Insight Tag (if enabled) - for B2B advertising and analytics

Purpose: To show you relevant advertisements and measure the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns.

Legal Basis: Your consent. You can enable or disable marketing cookies at any time through your cookie preferences.

4. First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies

First-Party Cookies

These cookies are set directly by BizAlerts and can only be read by our website. They include:

  • Session management cookies
  • User preference cookies
  • Cookie consent cookies

Third-Party Cookies

These cookies are set by external services we use, such as:

  • Stripe: Payment processing and fraud detection (necessary)
  • Google Analytics: Website analytics (optional, requires consent)
  • Advertising platforms: Ad targeting and measurement (optional, requires consent)

Each third-party service has its own privacy policy governing how they use cookies. We recommend reviewing their policies if you have concerns about how they handle data.

5. Session vs. Persistent Cookies

Session Cookies

These temporary cookies are deleted when you close your browser. They help maintain your session state as you navigate through our website.

Persistent Cookies

These cookies remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them. They help us remember your preferences and provide a better experience on return visits. Our persistent cookies typically last:

  • Cookie consent preferences: 12 months
  • User preferences: 12 months
  • Analytics cookies: Up to 24 months
  • Marketing cookies: Up to 12 months

6. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You have several options for managing cookies:

6.1 Cookie Preference Center

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using our Cookie Preference Center. Click the button below to open your preferences:

6.2 Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically:

  • View what cookies are stored and delete them individually
  • Block third-party cookies
  • Block cookies from specific websites
  • Delete all cookies when you close your browser
  • Browse in "private" or "incognito" mode

Here are links to cookie management guides for popular browsers:

Important: If you block or delete cookies, some features of our website may not work properly. Specifically, you will not be able to complete subscription payments or manage your preferences without necessary cookies.

6.3 Do Not Track (DNT)

Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature that signals to websites that you do not want your online activity tracked. We respect DNT signals and will not track users who have DNT enabled, except for strictly necessary cookies required for the website to function.

7. Specific Cookie Details

Below is a list of the specific cookies we use:

Cookie NamePurposeCategoryDuration
cc_cookieStores your cookie consent preferencesNecessary12 months
__stripe_*Payment processing and fraud detectionNecessarySession
_gaGoogle Analytics - visitor identificationAnalytics24 months
_gidGoogle Analytics - session identificationAnalytics24 hours
_gatGoogle Analytics - throttle request rateAnalytics1 minute

Note: This list may not be exhaustive and is subject to change. We will update this policy when new cookies are introduced.

8. Impact of Disabling Cookies

If you disable cookies, the following features may not work properly:

  • Payment Processing: You will not be able to subscribe or manage your subscription through Stripe
  • Preferences: Your preference settings may not be saved between sessions
  • Security: Some security features may not function correctly
  • User Experience: You may need to re-enter information repeatedly

We strive to minimize our use of cookies, but some are essential for providing our service. You can use our service with only necessary cookies enabled by rejecting optional cookies in the Cookie Preference Center.

9. Updates to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our business practices. When we make significant changes, we will notify you by:

  • Updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
  • Displaying a prominent notice on our website
  • Sending you an email notification (for material changes)

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or this Cookie Policy, please contact us:

Email: [email protected]
Support: [email protected]

You can also review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for more information about how we handle your data.